Novatel Wireless, Inc., a leading global provider of solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) including software-as-a-service (SaaS) today announced Ignite™, a bundled connectivity solution to benefit retail businesses that rely on wireless connections for digital applications in their stores, together with T-Mobile, America’s Un-carrier.

Retail businesses need the flexibility and control to easily deploy and manage their connected-store operations, such as digital signage, kiosks, vending machines and point of sale. Unfortunately, the connectivity piece can be costly and confusing. Developed and managed by Novatel Wireless, with service powered by T-Mobile’s network, Ignite is a simple, out-of-the-box solution that solves a common problem for businesses – purchasing and managing wireless technology pieces from multiple vendors. With Ignite, Novatel Wireless provides all the pieces needed for the retailer’s connectivity, including device cloud management platform, hardware, and support – combined with the power of T-Mobile’s network to deliver data service – in one package. Customers can get the bundle, with data, for a straight-forward, $40 monthly rate per unit.

“Businesses want to take advantage of the connected retail environments but the time and expense for them to sort through all the pieces is seemingly more effort than it’s worth,” said Michael Cote, vice president, Sales at Novatel Wireless. “This is why the success of IoT weighs heavily on partnerships and we’re making the adoption of it easier with T-Mobile. By giving customers a straight-forward bundled solution with a single point of contact – we’re taking the hassle and the upfront costs out of the entire process for them.”

Novatel Wireless’ Ignite, with service powered by T-Mobile, not only solves fragmentation and pricey a-la-carte costs, it also delivers a secure and reliable wireless failover solution for business continuity. Uptime in the retail world is critical. If an outage occurs, connected applications can become useless and can result in a loss of productivity, damaged reputation, and ultimately, loss of revenue. Retailers know this pain, to the tune of billions of dollars annually, but the cost to implement a simple well-structured system that also delivers business continuity can be overwhelming both logistically and financially. WithIgnite, retailers receive confidence that a business continuity system is in place.

“Our Un-carrier movement is all about solving customer pain points and in today’s world of connected devices, that also means helping fix what’s broken with the carrier’s IoT solutions,” said Doug Chartier, senior vice president, IoT, Wholesale and National Retail at T-Mobile.

The retail industry is an important vertical for cellular machine-to-machine connectivity. Cellular technology enables devices such as POS terminals, digital signage, vending machines and ATMs to be used at locations where fixed line connectivity is unavailable or impractical. According to San Francisco-based analyst firm, Grand View Research, the worldwide connected retail market will reach $53.75 billion by 2022, a nearly fivefold increase over the $11.17 billion spent in 2014. That market includes applications that depend on wireless machine-to-machine cellular connections.